The Son of Night
by PJOHOOforever12543
Summary: Cheyenne can't take being a nobody anymore. She runs away from her family to find a new home. Maybe with the woodland creatures. Soon she finds a mysterious boy named Nico di Angelo, and she finds out that she is a demigod just like him. She soon falls in love with Nico and they got on a quest to destroy a lingering eidolon that haunts modern-day Greece.
1. Chapter 1

The world ended when the window shattered. Third period. Math. It happened to be my least favorite class. You see, I'm dyslexic and ADHD. Letters and numbers get jumbled and they sometimes seem to float off the page. English is a subject I struggle with, but math is the worst. I get frustrated just looking at a simple "find _x_" equation. On top of that, who doesn't like math? Maybe a couple of nerds, but otherwise, no. I can't pay attention either. It's one of the perks of being hyperactive. Well, anyways, I was sitting at my desk minding my own business (when I say that I mean doodling in my notebook), when suddenly, the window shattered.

"Nice going, Cheyenne," sneered Jacqueline. "Now you've shattered the window."

I sighed. I was always blamed for supernatural incidents. Last year, in sixth grade, Jacqueline was teasing me, and the water fountain exploded when I yelled and punched her. I was kicked out of the school (for the sixth time in a row) when the administrators found out. Police officers had to drive me home because I was so angry. Then I moved to Connect Academy. With my luck, Jacqueline moved too. Connect was a school for juvenile delinquents. I guess Jacqueline punched someone too.

So anyways, the window shattered and Jacqueline blamed me.

Ms. Snaffle rolled her eyes. "Cheyenne, if you are going to damage school property, then you can go to the principal's office." She pointed to the door.

"But I didn't do anything!" I protested.

"Come on," said Tiffany, "We all saw you throw that rock at the window."

"What rock?" I said. See what I mean? Not one person trusts my judgment.

"Stop playing dumb," she said.

Ms. Snaffle shot me a death glare.

"Fine," I muttered.

Two of the nerds, Evan and Troy, looked up from their text books and snickered. They were the only ones so far who hadn't looked up from their math books.

"Shut up," I hissed. They shut up. I'm intimidating in that way.

As I walked down the hallway, I thought about what just happened in math. I don't know why everyone hates me so much. What did I ever do to them? I stepped into the office. The office lady, Miss Harold, looked up, gave me an exasperated look, and looked back down at her papers.

"Tell me, Cheyenne, why are you here for the fourth time in a row this week?" she sighed.

"Well, I supposedly threw a rock at the window," I replied.

"And did you?"

"I don't know! I don't even like to _touch_ rocks!"

"Mm-hmm. Well I'm afraid I can't argue with an entire class. You know our rules. Any student who exceeds the limit of three times in the principal's office gets expelled. You especially. You always damage school property."

I gasped. "What!? You can't just send me away! What about high school? Or college? I have a life too you know."

Miss Harold glared at me. If looks could kill, I would have died.

"Young lady, that is quite enough. You're expelled, and that's final. I've already contacted a taxi to take you to the bus station to get you home. I suggest you go pack."

I fought back the tears that were welling up in my eyes. I walked back into the math classroom and I felt all eyes turn on me. My face flushed as I picked up my backpack. Jacqueline and her prissy bully friends giggled. I cursed at them under my breath. I talked to my Ms. Snaffle and left.

As the taxi drove me to the bus station, I realized that facing my mother would be the worst. She was always angry at the world, especially after my biological father left her to care for me when I was just two. I've gone through a total of three step-fathers, and all of them were world-class jerks. My mom finally had enough and decided not to get married anymore. She blamed me for all of her problems. I know I am a difficult kid to handle, but it's not my fault. It's not _my _problem that I'm dyslexic and ADHD. The taxi driver's voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

"Is this the stop you want to get off at, miss?" he asked.

"Yeah," I murmured. "Thank you."

"My pleasure," he replied.

I got out of the taxi, telling the driver to keep the change I gave him. The sub-zero wind bit through my fleece jacket, making my teeth chatter. I waited for about twenty minutes in the freezing weather when finally, the bus came. I hopped on, took a seat in the very back, and pulled out a book. Even though I'm dyslexic, I enjoy reading a lot. It calms my nerves and it makes me feel like I actually have a place in the world. The bus stopped at the last stop, which was the closest to my house. My house was on the outskirts of Colorado Springs, and it was in one of the poorest communities. The only person left on the bus was a man with wavy dark brown hair, kind of like mine. He wore on of those Hawaiian souvenir shirts, even though it was something like five below zero. He smelled like the ocean: seawater and sunscreen. Why someone would wear sunscreen in the middle of December, I don't know. I turned around to pack up my things, and when finished, he was still there. He nodded at me, and disappeared. Yeah. I said _disappeared_. He just simply vanished, in a cloud of beach-smelling smoke. In his place was a glowing blue trident, engraved on the floor. I gaped at the trident for a few seconds, and shook my head. My brain was most likely messing with me.

I walked the remaining mile to my house, and trudged up our steep driveway, just as big fluffy flakes of snow began to fall. Our house had the perfect view of the Rocky Mountains, and it gave me a sense of serenity. The inside of the house, on the other hand, was in complete chaos. The floor was littered with coke cans and popcorn. I guessed my mom had another reunion with her college buddies. Rock music blared from my older step-brother, John's, room. In my younger step-sister, Marie's, room, classical music floated sweetly into the living room, and I calmed down, until I heard a BANG!

_She's practicing ballet in her room again,_ I thought to myself.

Both of my step-siblings were the children of one of my step-fathers. He was one of the extremely abusive ones. He left my mom with two more children to take care of. He would punch me, cuss at me, and once he even kicked me until I felt my ribs crack. I was rushed to the emergency room, and my mother divorced him.

Then my mother came out of her room, looking really, _really_ angry. Her long black hair was tied in a bun and her piercing blue eyes had a slightly maniacal look to them.

"Cheyenne Jamison! In all my years of raising you, this is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard. The principal just emailed me. You threw a _rock _at the _window_!? Why would you even _think_ of doing such a thing?" she screamed.

I pouted. "Mom, I never did anything! It's like someone outside is _trying_ to get me kicked out of every freaking school I go to."

My mother's voice became very calm, a sign that she was _really_ angry. She narrowed her eyes. "Are you saying you _didn't _throw a rock at the window? Would you even _dare_ lie to me?"

"Mom, I swear, I didn't do˗˗˗˗"

"GO TO YOUR ROOM!"

I yelped and ran upstairs. I slammed the door and sat down on my bed. Moments after I sat down, I started bawling my eyes out. Why didn't _I_ have a happy life like Jacqueline and Tiffany? Why was_ I_ the one who was bullied every single second of my life? Why was _I _the one who didn't have any friends? I rammed my face into my pillow and wept like a baby, but it felt good. After I calmed down, I wrote a note to my mom.

Mom,

I think I have had enough of going to school and being stressed. I'm leaving. My ADHD is getting worse every day, and I can barely read a sentence in a textbook. I'm having trouble righting this to you right now. Remember that I love you, and I want you to know I will never forget you for taking care of me. I might come back, but if I don't, I'm sorry. This must be so hard on you, but this might release some of your stress in being single and having to take care of three kids. If I leave, you will have fewer kids to take care of. Again, I love you.

Your daughter,

Clara

I taped the note to my bedpost and started packing my things. My belongings consisted of extra warm clothes, a bedroll, and a stuffed animal. I grew up with that stuffed animal; I simply could not part with it. Then I walked down to the kitchen and packed some vital necessities (sunflower seeds and gum are vital). Of course, I was smart enough to fill a bottle of water. John was downstairs religiously watching football like his life depended on it. He raised an eyebrow when I walked past.

"Where ya going?" he asked.

John was a world-class jerk. He always teased me about being single and being "forever alone." I didn't get it. He was _nineteen_ and single, and he teased _me_ about being single? No thirteen year old in their right mind would date in seventh grade, except maybe Jacqueline and Tiffany and a few other popular people. I glared at him. "I'm going to Neverland to meet Peter Pan and the Lost Boys. Where do you think I'm going?"

Hopefully somewhere else," John grumbled. "You are _so _annoying."

_Me? Annoying? You should look at the mirror more often. _

I rolled my eyes as I walked back up the stairs.

I made myself stay awake until John went to bed. Unfortunately, my mom was in a very bad mood, so she didn't bother to make him go to bed. He stayed up until one in the morning. By the time I finished packing, pulling on some jeans, a T-shirt, a fleece jacket and tied up my combat boots, I was ready to just drop everything and fall asleep.

Before I left, I looked at some of our photo albums. There was one picture of John, Marie, and I at the zoo, and I was being licked by a giraffe. Another picture was of Marie and I dancing at one of our ballet concerts. I noticed that the paper was wet and I brushed my cheek. I realized I had been crying. I was tempted to run to my mother's room. I knew she loved me, and she would never try to hurt me. Then I thought better of it. This was what I was meant to do, and I wasn't about to let a chance of freedom slip away. I quietly slipped out of my room. I tip-toed into my mother's room. She was sleeping with a distressed look on her face. My eyes became misty as I leaned forward and kissed my mother on the forehead. She was trying her best to keep me going in school and in life. I murmured _goodbye_ into her ear.


	2. Chapter 2

Running away probably wasn't the best of my plans. I had nowhere to go, nowhere to sleep, and no one to comfort me. I hitched a ride in an opened Walmart truck and slept for about an hour. I woke up to the sound of a man yelling at me. A big grizzly bear of a man was staring down at me. I jumped and cracked my head against a crate.

"Holy mother!" I yelped, crawling away from the man.

"I suggest you leave," the man said, voice seething with anger. "No one hitch-hikes on _this _baby." He patted the side of the truck lovingly.

"O-kaay," I stammered nervously. "I'll just leave you to your truck. It looks like you guys need some time a—"

"GET OUT!" the man shouted so loudly my teeth chattered. I made a courageous squeaking sound and scrambled out of the truck.

With my luck, the man parked at the foot of a mountain. There were only trees as far as the eye could see in every direction.

I cursed under my breath and started down a narrow side road going deeper into the woods. Something about the path made me feel better.

After two long hours of trekking through the woods, I reached a large valley that opened up between two hills. At the bottom there was a separate forest of pines and aspens. I started to hike down the hill. When I say hike, I mean half sliding, half tumbling. When I finally reached the bottom, I was covered in dirt, twigs, and sweat, even though it was about ten degrees colder than it had been at the top of the hill. I started to move into the woods.

After a while, it started to get brighter. I was able to see better, and I observed my surroundings. Trees enclosed the path I was following, and owls hooted in the dark. I started to freak out, and I broke out into a cold sweat. I shivered in my thin jacket. Oh, the joys of running away. I shivered again and kept walking.

Somewhere in the bushes next to me, something moved. I froze in my tracks, not daring to move or talk. The bushes stopped rustling, and I exhaled. I cautiously stepped forward, but as soon as my foot touched the ground, two glowing red eyes blinked open and glowered at me through the dark brambles. Then it attacked.


	3. Chapter 3

I honestly wasn't surprised that it lunged. What do you expect when something dark and menacing with red eyes stares at you through the bushes? A bunny? No, you get a—something. I tried to remember what we studied in Latin class. Something called a howlhound? No, a _hellhound_. But those are just myths. Hellhounds don't exist. The problem was that I was staring right at one.

Teeth bared and claws extended, it leaped forward, growling and snarling. I rolled out of the way, but not fast enough. The hellhound raked its dagger-like claws across my shoulder. Pain flared up my arm, and I staggered, trying to catch my breath.

_I could never fight this thing off on my own,_ I thought. _This thing shouldn't even exist!_

As if on cue, a small wisp of black flew in front of the hellhound and I. Time slowed down for a split-second and I saw a glinting black sword. The sword slashed the hellhound in the side and it yelped in pain. The blur of a person tucked and rolled onto the ground. A boy, maybe fifteen, solidified in front of me, nodded, and went back to fighting the hellhound. He solidified so fast, I never got a chance to look at his facial features closely. All I knew was that he had black clothes. I continued to watch him fight the monster. He slashed with such speed and agility I was sure he _had _to be inhuman. Finally, with one final slash, the boy cut the hellhound's head off. The monster dissolved into sulfur-smelling sand and floated away.

The boy turned around and looked at me in a funny way. He had startling brown eyes that were almost black and tousled dark brown-black hair. All of his clothes were dark: black jeans, and a black Green Day T-shirt. He wore black high-top Converse. On his right hand there was a wicked silver skull ring. Hanging by his side was a sword as dark as night.

"Come with me," he said grimly.

"Um, could you at least tell me who you are?" I said.

"No time for that. _They _will find us."

"But—"

"Come on!" He grabbed my hand and we both took off into the woods.


	4. Chapter 4

_What is _with _this kid? _I thought to myself as he ran, still holding my hand. My lungs screamed at me to take a breath. My legs ached like crazy.

"Can—we—take—a—break?" I panted, gasping for air

The boy looked back at me. He almost ran into a tree, but he dodged it as if he had eyes in the back of his head.

"No! They'll find us if we stop. When I find the cave up ahead, then we'll rest."

"Can you at least tell me who you are?"

"Sorry, names are powerful. Not until we get there."

All he said was no. No, no, no. That's it. It drove me crazy. Every question I asked him was answered with a no. I was definitely starting to like this guy.

After a couple more miles of running, my legs felt like falling off. I was just about to pass out when the boy abruptly stopped. He caught me as I fell forward.

"Thanks," I muttered. Then I remembered my arm. I felt the blood drain from my head. I stumbled and the boy caught me again.

"We need to get you to the cave," he muttered.

At that time, I was way too weak to walk. The boy noticed that I wasn't feeling great. He picked me up in one swift movement and walked towards the cave. He was surprisingly strong. I snuggled closer to him; he was warm compared to the woods. I passed out.

When I woke up I found myself staring at a crackling fire. My shoulder was bandaged, and my mouth tasted like banana bread. I shuddered at the thought of the stranger taking my shirt off to bandage my arm. The boy was poking at the embers with his black sword.

I sat up groggily. "So, tell me your name, O, Dark One. Where are you from, and _what _was that thing out there?

The boy looked up and kind of chuckled. "Don't call me that. My name is Nico di Angelo. That _thing_ was a hellhound. It sensed you were one of us."

I sighed. "Okay. Here's the story."

I gave him a full account of what happened. He sat there, nodding and occasionally asking me questions.

"You sound a lot like the seven," he murmured, half to himself.

"Who're the seven?"

"They're my friends. I'm guessing you'll meet them later," he replied.

"When?"

Nico sighed. "You know, I am really tired. I've been trekking these woods since seven this morning."

I shrugged. "Alright. I'm tired too."

Suddenly I felt very tired. I laid my head down on my backpack, and fell into a sleep as deep as a coma.


	5. Chapter 5

Of course, sleep brought dreams, and those dreams were nightmares. I dreamed I was back at home. It was back when my mother was happy with my actual father. She was holding me when I was about two years old. I was sleeping, and my dad was tickling me under the chin. I cooed and wriggled around in my mom's arms. I opened my eyes and started at my father's face. His eyes were a dark sea-green, like mine, and his hair was dark and wavy, again, just like mine. I realized that my father looked frighteningly similar to the man I saw on the bus. His whole body radiated a certain type of warmth. My mother looked up and her smile faded.

"Poseidon, do you think she's safe?"

_Poseidon? Interesting name._

"Trust me, Lea, she's fine," he replied. "The time will come when she will need to go. We'll let the Fates decide."

Safe?_ I was just attacked by a mythical creature! You call that _safe_? What kind of father is he, and _who_ is he?_

"Until then," Poseidon continued," I must leave. Zeus will be upset knowing that I came here to visit. You know how he feels about us making contact with mortals."

_Mortals?_

My mother grabbed his hand. "Please, don't go! How am I supposed to care for her on my own?"

Poseidon rested his hands on her shoulders. "This will sound terrible, but I need to you to re-marry. I will protect her from the monsters."

"No!"

"Lea, it is the only way."

"But—okay. But remember, I will never forget you."

Poseidon started to fade away, and my mother screamed.

"Wh—what are you doing to me!?" my mom shrieked.

"I'm erasing your memory of me. You will not remember me until Cheyenne goes to camp."

_Camp?_

"B—but I love you! Why would you do this to me?"

"It's for the best," Poseidon whispered into her ear.

My mother wailed and her eyes rolled to the back of her head. She slumped forward and fell into a chair. She dropped me and I screamed. As I fell, a small wave of water caught me and cushioned my fall. The water cradled me until I fell asleep. The water seeped over me until I was in a small bubble. The baby version of me realized I could breathe normally, and I peacefully slept. Then the real me woke up.


	6. Chapter 6

"Don't leave!" I gasped as I shot up from the ground."

"Wh—what? Who is it? I'll kill you!" Nico jumped up, bleary-eyed with his sword drawn.

I looked around, realizing I was still in the cave.

"Oh. Never mind. Bad dream. What time is it?

Nico lowered his sword and looked peeked out of the cave. "Judging from where the sun is, it's around eight in the morning. You said you had a bad dream? What was it about?"

I filled him in on the details.

"Come to think of it," I said, "I think I saw that man on the bus a couple of days ago, coming home from school. He disappeared in a cloud of smoke that smelled like sun lotion, and he left a small glowing trident on the floor."

Nico smiled without humor. "Well, I think we know who your godly parent is."

"Godly—godly parent? What?"

"You're a demigod. A half-blood."

"How do you know?"

Nico thought about that for a second. "Okay. You're ADHD and dyslexic, right?

"Um… yeah. How do you know?"

Nico smirked. "Just give me a sec. Do you wonder who your real father is?"

"How… what? How do you know?"

"I know things. Um… oh! Have you been kicked out of almost every school from a teacher who didn't seem quite human?"

I stared at him. "Are you a wizard, or have you been stalking me my entire life?"

He chuckled. "No. I know all of this because you're a demigod. Your sign should be coming in three, two, one…"

He pointed at my head. For a few seconds, nothing happened. I was seriously thinking of ditching this creepy emo kid. Then everything was washed in an eerie blue-green light. I looked down at my fingers and noticed they were glowing. Nico made a gesture for me to look up. Floating just above my head was a blue trident, just like the man left in the bus left engraved on the floor when he left.

Nico kneeled to the floor. "Hail, Cheyenne Jamison, daughter of Poseidon."


	7. Chapter 7

**HHHHHHHHEEEEEEEEEEEEYYYYYYYYYYYYYY PEOPLE! I'm so sorry I haven't posted in so long. I had TONS of school homework and never got a chance to update. Well, please leave a review if you like it! See you my fellow demigods...**

**~Clara the Daughter of Poseidon**

I stood there, stunned, looking at the glowing trident. It finally started to fade, and my skin color turned normal again. I looked at Nico, and judging from his expression, he was highly amused.

"The look on your face was hilarious," he said.

"Shut up," I hissed. "Now what?"

Nico gave me that creepy, thin, no-humor smile again. I shuddered. This kid gave off bad vibes. Then again, he was kind of cute. What am I thinking? No. I will not think like that.

Nico tapped my arm. "First, we train," he said with a sly smirk

"Do we really have to do this?" I asked through gritted teeth.

Nico grinned. "It'll help you with your strength. We need to get you strong and agile."

I glared at him. "_You _don't look strong and agile."

Nico laughed. "You'd be surprised. Get back to work."

He was having me hang upside-down in a pine tree. I had to do sit-ups with a five pound rock in my hands. Serious pain. Finally, I dropped the rock and sat up, panting like a dog.

"Hey, Nico?"

"Yeah?" He was sharpening his sword on a small rock. I guess he had a thing with rocks.

I hesitated for a second. "Um, you never told me who _your _godly parent is. Who is he, or she?"

Nico dropped his sword and sighed. "I knew you were going to ask me sometime. You see, my father isn't exactly the friendliest god there is."

"And?"

"My dad's Hades, god of the Underworld."

"No way! So I guess that means we're cousins."

"Yeah."

"So that means we can't date?"

Nico's eyes widened. "What are you thinking?"

I mentally slapped myself for saying that. "Oh, crap. Forget anything I said. I slipped up. I'm so stupid."

"That's okay. I was scared for a sec."

I blushed and jumped down from the tree. Nico taught me how to look at the sky to tell the time.

"Okay. I was scared for a sec."

I blushed and jumped down from the tree. Nico taught me how to look at the sky to tell the time. It was around noon. I walked over to the nearby river to maybe try to catch a fish. I waded into the icy water. A trout wriggled through my legs. I plunged my hands into the water and caught it by the gills. I quickly hit it in the head with a rock. I t stopped squirming. I waded back into the river to catch more fish.

As I waited for the fish, I thought about what I said to Nico. Was I really falling in love? It had been about five days since he carried me into the cave. He'd taught me survival skills, what to eat and what not to eat, and even gave me a weapon. I looked at the thick silver ring on my middle finger. I tapped it and watched it turn into a one and a half foot dagger. They blade was made up of the same material of Nico's sword: black Stygian iron. I swung it around, which was easy because it was incredibly light. Where the ring was, there was now a steel hilt wrapped in leather. On the front was a red ruby. I touched the jewel and the dagger shrank back into the silver ring. Nico said he had found it in the corner of the cave when I was unconscious. On it was glowing Celestial bronze writing that said it was from Hades. On it was a prophecy. Nico wouldn't tell me about it.

I grabbed another fish and walked towards the cave. Nico had started a fire, and judging from the sky, it was around four or five. I sat down across from Nico and began gutting the fish with my knife.

"So, Cheyenne, why did you ask me if we could date?" Nico asked.

My hands hovered over the fish. "I—I'm not sure. I just blurted it out," I replied.

"I think it's more than that," he said.

I felt my face flush. My heart thumped so hard in my chest, I was sure it would pop out. Instinctively, I reached up and smoothed down my hair. "It's not that."

"What is it?"

"I just feel like I've been alone my entire life. I just want to be with someone. Someone I can trust. My mom hated me, my dad left me, I've had three crappy stepfathers. You're the first person I've ever been happy with. I know it's only been a week, but—but I think I love—"

Nico leaned in and kissed me right on the lips. You would think the son of Hades would be a terrible kisser, right? Wrong. His lips were warm and his touch sent a tingle down my spine. It was a little scary, to be honest. This had never happened before. We kissed for about five seconds. Then Nico pulled away.

"Um, I don't know why I did that," he mumbled, scratching his head.

I blushed. "I guess we both got carried away."

"Well, we need to eat and then go to sleep. I'm planning on moving somewhere else. I'm planning on moving somewhere closer to Camp—never mind." Nico turned to the fire and started to cook the fish.

I took my dagger out and started sharpening it. "I'm going to go outside. At the river, I heard rustling in the trees. I had a feeling that whatever was in there wasn't after our fish."

"Okay. Just come back when you see the sun go down," said Nico. "Oh, and what you said about us dating, it's totally fine."

I smiled and ran out into the woods.


	8. Chapter 8

**MA PEEPS! How do you like it so far? I'm trying really hard to keep updating, but with homework piling up and finals coming, MY LIFE IS IN COMPLETE CHAOS. Soooo... PLEASE KEEP READING! AND PLEASE FOLLOW AND GIVE ME REVIEWS. I need feedback. THANKS!**

**~Clara the Daughter of Poseidon**

I sprinted into the pine trees, thinking about what Nico said.

"_What you said about us dating, it's totally fine._"

Did he just agree to let me date him? I had no idea. I liked him, but I had no idea why he would agree so fast. We had just met five days ago. How could we fall in love that quickly? Am I even cut out to be in a relationship?

My thoughts were interrupted by a rustle in the bushes. I tapped my ring and watched it grow into a dagger. I gripped the hilt tightly; so tightly that my knuckles turned white. I peered around the bushes. Suddenly, the rustling stopped. A little white bunny hopped out, observed me with his beady black eyes, and bounded away. I exhaled. All of this demigodly stuff was making my brain go haywire. I started to head back to the cave.

"I'm back!" I called as I walked into the warm, fire-lit cave. Nico was sitting near the fire, looking at some sort of photo. I looked over his shoulder and stared at the picture. There were eight people, including Nico. There were four other guys and three other girls.

"Who's that?" I asked.

"They're my friends. I went on this big quest with these guys and they're still my friends."

"Then why are you here instead of being with them?"

He laughed in this charming little way that I love. "I'm out here recruiting cute little demigods." He nudged my arm and wiggled his eyebrows. I blushed.

"No, seriously, why are you out here?" I asked.

"I'm actually supposed to be recruiting demigods. Grover, my friend, sensed demigods in this vicinity. I never expected to find a daughter of Poseidon, though."

I nodded. "Interesting."

That pretty much ended our conversation, and I fell asleep.


	9. Chapter 9

**So I was thinking of posting daily, because I'm finally learning not to procrastinate! Yay me. So I'll try to keep it consistent as possible.**

"Psst, Cheyenne. Hey!"

I opened my eyes. Nico was leaning over me. His face was so close to mine, I could see small flecks of royal blue in his almost-black eyes.

I gave a start and jumped up. Our heads collided and we both fell over.

"Gah! Why were you leaning in so close to me?" I asked, rubbing my forehead.

"I wanted to see your reaction," he grumbled in reply. Let's get moving. We'll try to get at least five miles today before nightfall if we can."

"Five miles? That's a long way," I tried to imagine me getting five miles into the woods without getting tired. It was kind of hard to imagine.

"You'll be fine," Nico answered reassuringly.

We got to work, starting the fire or breakfast and packing our belongings. I went outside and climbed a tree. When I got to the top, I scanned the surrounding forest, hoping to find an easy path north. I spotted a small road leading north towards Wyoming. I climbed down tree and ran back to the cave.

"Nico! I found a path that leads north. You said we have to get at least five miles into the woods. And, by the way, where are we going? You never told me."

"Oh, yeah. It's a surprise. And a very cool surprise, at that."

I shrugged. "Alright, but can you at least tell me what state we're going to?"  
Nico smiled. "We're going to the Big Apple!"

In my days, I've done some pretty cool things. Making water fountains explode, climbing the Incline in Manitou Springs in less than five minutes, and even breathing underwater in the pool at my school, but I never expected to be able to go to New York. But there I was, looking at the Statue of Liberty itself. It was a beautiful sight, even from a ferry, and I just stared at it for about five minutes.

Nico tapped my shoulder. "Um, we might want to go." He pointed to a very large looking dog, standing behind us near the pilot of the boat. It snarled at me when I looked at it, and foam spilled out of his dangerous looking jaws.

I slowly backed away, and glanced at Nico, who had started to draw his dangerous sword. I unsheathed my dagger, when I noticed that the tourists on the boat were all gone.

"Where did all the people go?" I whispered.

"You know what?" Nico answered.

"What?"

"In all my years of being a demigod, I have never figured out why the mortals always disappear when a dangerous monster appears."

"Maybe they got bored of the fight, and decided to leave," I suggested.

"I don't think that's why."

Then the monster lunged, and it sent me into a flashback of the first day I ran away.

**YES I LOVE DOING CLIFFHANGERS! Please don't kill me *cowers in fear* So did you like it? Please review and comment. I really need support!**


	10. Chapter 10

**YESH! I'm actually getting kinda used to this updating stuff. Please read and review. I need SUPPORT! Oh, and I'd also appreciate it if you shared this story with other humans. It would really encourage me if more people viewed my story. Arigato!**

Everything went dark as soon as the monster closed in on us.

_Dang it, we're shadow-traveling again. _I thought to myself. Oh, yeah, I forgot to mention, we shadow-traveled _to _New York. For future reference, I'm just saying here and now that once we had gotten as far as five miles north, Nico told me to hold his hand. I was a little iffy about it at first, but once he started blending into the shadows, I was glad I held on. Shadows of the dead swirled all around us, and I didn't know when it would end. It felt like forever, but we actually got to New York in about three minutes.

Anyways, Nico panicked and ended up shadow-traveling us to Manhattan Square, where the Empire State Building loomed over us.

"That was too close," murmured Nico. Then he collapsed. I caught him before he managed to crack his head against the cement. The "mortals," as Nico called them, milled around the square, occasionally glancing at the two abnormal teens. I remembered Nico saying something about the Mist, which was a magical force that hid mortals' eyes from anything out of the ordinary. They probably didn't realize that my boyfriend was passed out in my arms. I looked around, desperate to find something that would help us.

Suddenly, I spotted a tabby cat prancing around near a café. It looked at me, and strangely beckoned me with its white paw. I started walking towards it. When I was about two yards away from the cat, it gave me a content look and scampered away. Unfortunately, I had a thing named Nico in my arms, and could only run at about three miles an hour. If he had been conscious, we might have gotten caught up with the cat already. But _no._ I had to drag him for about fifteen minutes until I spotted the same cat again. It saw me and ran away again. This time, I was prepared, so I managed to keep up with it. Five minutes later, the tabby started slowing down to a stop. I looked in front of me and saw that we had stopped right in front of a Starbuck's coffee shop. I set Nico in one of the patio chairs outside the shop, and plopped my tired body into the other. By the time I felt ready to get up again, the sky had turned a dark gray- blue. I took out the watch that Nico always kept in his pocket and read the time. It was already six-thirty, and I was starting to worry about where we were going to sleep. I stood up and looked at the cat. Up close, it was really fat, and he had a bell around his neck. There was a tag hanging next to the bell. The cat didn't seem scared when I leaned in to look at the tag.

Mr. McShizzle

Property of Leo Valdez

If lost, please return to the Empire State Building, 600th floor

I thought about the "if lost" part. There's no 600th floor on the Empire State Building. Is there? Suddenly, Nico groaned. Dang it, I forgot all about him. The cat jumped up and pawed at a bell hanging at the bottom of the Starbuck's door. A scrawny Latino kid, maybe seventeen or eighteen, walked out and let the cat in. He spotted me and gave me a funny look.

"Welcome to Starbuck's. Do you need anything?" Then he saw Nico and made a squeaking sound.

"Nico?" He looked at me and glared. "Did you hurt him?"

I put my hands up in defense and cowered in my chair. "I swear, I didn't do anything. I carried him here from the Empire State Building. We were fighting a thing and he accidentally shadow-traveled us there. We were originally on a ferry in front of the Statue of Liberty. After we got to Manhattan square, he fainted and I panicked and followed Mr. McShizzle."

"Mr. McShizzle… Oh you mean my cat!" he laughed. "Sorry, I get pretty protective over my friends."

"You're friends with Nico? And is your name Leo?"

"Yeah we've been friends for about a year now. And yeah, my name's Leo. Why don't you come in? My girlfriend's inside helping me. She's an excellent healer and I bet she'd fix Nico right up."

I nodded my head and was about to pick Nico up when the Leo swooped in and picked him up in one swift movement. I opened the door and Leo took him inside. I followed him in.

"Hi, welcome to Starbucks. May I take your order?" A beautiful girl with blond hair about Leo's age welcomed the three of us in. Her blue eyes widened as she saw Nico, unconscious and laying in Leo's arms.

"Leo, what happened to Nico?" she gasped.

Leo laughed. "It's fine. You know how he can shadow-travel? You know, the creepy Hades thing?"

"Yeah…"

"If he travels too far, or too long, it'll make him tired. He just passed out from exhaustion. A little sleep and he'll be just fine."

I sighed in relief and sat down in one of the chairs. Just then, Nico bolted upright and yelled, "Cheyenne!"

I rushed to his side and hugged him. "Nico, are you alright?"

He looked at me and laughed. "It's fine. I was just exhausted. And where are we?"

"We're at Starbuck's."

"What?"

"With Leo."

"Who's Leo?"

I looked at him and waited until he figured out what was going on. He looked around and finally saw Leo waving at him.

"Leo, what are you doing here?" Nico asked.

Leo walked to the back of the counter and started up a coffee machine.

"Chiron lets me work here, since it's not summer. I'm going to a public high school around here," Leo said as he started making a cup of coffee. "The question is, what are _you _doing here?"

Nico got up and started to help Leo with the coffee. Calypso excused herself to the restroom.

"Chiron told me to find some demigods to recruit," explained Nico.

"Who's Chiron?"

"A guy."

"What guy?"

"An interesting guy."

I frowned. "Nico, what are you talking about?"

He laughed. "Alright, he's a centaur. You know, one of those half horse half human people?"

_Oh_. "Yeah, I've heard of those things before."

"He's the head of Camp Half-Blood," added Leo.

I felt curious again. Camp Half-Blood? Sounds like a really fun camp. "What's Camp Half-Blood? Is it a summer camp? 'Cause it sounds like an awesome summer camp."

Leo laughed. "Oh, it's a camp alright. A very _interesting _camp."

I looked at Leo. "How do you know Nico, anyway?"

Leo looked at Nico with a sly expression on his face. Nico looked back with the same expression. He nodded. Then Leo set his hand on fire. I looked at him. Then Nico, who was trying not to laugh. Then Leo again.

"Y—you're a demigod!" I stammered. I watched in awe as he extinguished the small column of red-orange flames.

He nodded. "Nico and I were on the same quest about a year ago. At first, I thought he was this creepy emo kid, but I eventually found out that he's not that bad. He likes a lot of the same music I like. Fall Out Boy, Panic! At the Disco, Green Day…"

Leo started rambling on about his favorite alternative rock bands. Nico rolled his eyes. A little ding sounded from the coffee pot.

"Leo, the coffee's done," I warned him.

"Shoot," he muttered, and ran over to the coffee. Leo poured the coffee into four different mugs and called Calypso out into the café area. Calypso hurried out and joined us at one of the tables.

I took a sip of my coffee. My eyes widened. "Oh my gosh, Leo, this is the most amazing coffee I've ever had in my entire life!"

"Isn't it?" he smirked. "And Cheyenne, from now on, I demand you to curse like a demigod. Some examples are 'Oh, my gods, holy Hera,' and 'by Hades' helm.'"

Nico rolled his eyes again. I giggled.

_I might actually get used to this_. I thought to myself joyfully.

**You like it? A lot more tricks up my sleeve, peepsles. Please review and favorite!**

**~ Clara**


	11. Chapter 11

**I think I'm going to go on a posting spree or something. I woke up sick, so I stayed home from school and decided to work on my story. So here's your chapter!**

Calypso yawned and stretched. I did the same, along with Nico and Leo.

"Ugh, I'm beat," Leo muttered through a series of yawns. We had all gotten our fair share of coffee and had talked for hours. Leo and Nico told me about the quest with Gaea, the Earth Mother, and Calypso explained how terrible Ogygia had been. I had just learned the effects of coffee after you had a lot. I yawned again and felt my eyes droop. Calypso leaned her head on Leo's shoulder, gazing at him with big doe eyes. Is that what couples do to each other? I suppose so. I wondered if I should have done the same thing to Nico. I looked at him and observed his face. His eyes gazed vacantly at the window, looking out at the passing couples, holding coffee, and kissing underneath the street lamps. I looked at Nico, kind of wishing that could be us. Nico had a little glint in his brown-black eyes. A tear rolled down his cheek. I stared in shock, watching the small drop of salt water make its way down his face, and eventually dripping into his lap.

"Nico," I whispered quietly.

He started and looked over at me, wiping his face. "Yeah?"

"What's wrong?"

Nico chuckled. "You saw that?"

"Mm-hm."

"Cheyenne," he started to say, "I—" Then he did something I least expected. He kissed me. And it wasn't like the kiss near the fire in the cave. This time, both of us were comfortable. He ran his hand through my hair, ruining my ponytail. But I didn't care. At that moment, nothing in the world mattered. All that mattered was that I was here, in New York in a warm, cozy coffee shop with two newly-made friends, kissing the love of my life. It seemed to last forever. Of course, until the front bell of the door ran. I broke away from the kiss, staring into Nico's eyes, wishing we could have kissed longer. I felt my face start to get red. I looked over at Leo and Calypso, who were gaping at us. Then Leo realized that a customer was looking through the door, awkwardly staring at Nico and I. Leo ran over and told the customer that the shop was closed. The guy gave Leo an angry look before swiftly walking away.

Leo walked back over to the table. "You guys are my new OTP," he squealed in a girly manner. Calypso nodded her head at a rapid-fire pace.

"What's an OTP?" I asked in curiosity.

Calypso giggled. "It's a fandom thing."

I was still confused, but I let it pass. Nico ran his hand through his hair, a sign that showed he was embarrassed. I noticed that he was blushing madly. It looked like he had gone to hell and stuck his face into a fire. Or as demigods call it, the Underworld, as Leo had explained. All of a sudden Nico pounded his fist against the table, making Mr. McShizzle jump off the windowsill. "Dam it!" I had also learned not to say "Damn," but "Dam," courtesy of an inside joke.

I jumped up, ready to fight someone. "Nico, what's wrong?" I asked urgently.

He put his head onto the table. "I forgot to get us a place to sleep, Chey."

Leo rolled his eyes. "Calypso and I decided to let you sleep at our place." When had they decided that?

Nico looked up with relief. "Oh, thank the gods I'm friends with you Leo. Otherwise I would have had to find a hotel or something, and you know how expensive those can be."

I wasn't so sure, though. "Leo, are you sure? Will your parents let you?"

Leo cast his eyes down to the floor. "Um, well you know my dad's Hephaestus, so of course he wouldn't mind. And my mom—well, she's not alive."

I mentally slapped myself in the face for asking that. "Oh, gods I'm so sorry, Leo. If I knew—"

He looked at me. "It's fine. I got my revenge on Gaea." He smirked. I felt impressed that so much could have happened to Leo, and yet he could still keep his head high. I had a feeling that Leo and I were going to become good friends.

A few minutes later, we had arrived at the apartment Leo and Calypso were staying at. Calypso had a small Honda Civic, so we had arrived there in about two minutes. We parked the car and walked into the apartment. The doorman invited us in and led us to the elevator. The elevator dinged each time we reached a different floor. Finally, at the seventh floor, the elevator doors opened up to a narrow hallway, lit with small lamps connected to the walls. Leo and Calypso led Nico and I down the hallway and stopped in front of one of the doors. Number 777. What's with all the sevens? I shrugged my shoulders. Leo opened the door.

"Welcome to my domain," he said proudly, with Calypso smiling behind him.

**You like it? Please favorite and review!**

**~Clara**


	12. Chapter 12

**AAAAAAGGGGGGGGGHHHHH I HAVEN'T POSTED IN LIKE THREE THOUSAND YEARS! I'M SORRY! BTW, this is a very short chapter. It's short and sweet.**

Surprisingly, cozy was the first word that came to mind. A small fireplace sat in the corner of the living room, and a loveseat stood in front of it. Two hallways separated the living room from Leo and Calypso's room and the kitchen. Honestly, I expected his apartment to be a mess of dirty laundry and take-out Chinese food or something, but I guess Calypso took care of their living quarters pretty good. A few books were stacked neatly on a glass coffee table in front to the couch. Some photos were spread across the floor.

"Leo, what is this?" Nico asked as he picked up one of the photos.

Leo reddened as he walked over to see what Nico was looking at. "Oh, um, just some pictures I took of us when we were on the quest thing. The Argo II had security cameras and I kinda-sorta wanted some pictures of our adventures and stuff. Creepy, huh?"

Nico flipped through the photos and blushed at the sight of almost all of them. I looked over his shoulder. The pictures ranged from fighting weird smoky angel things to kissing scenes in the sunset.

"Who's that?" I asked, pointing to a tall black haired kid kissing a blond.

He laughed. "Those two lovebirds. The blond is a girl named Annabeth Chase. She's a daughter of Athena, and the guy? He's Percy Jackson, son of — " He stopped and hesitated for a second.

"Son of… " I prompted, waiting for his reply.

Nico's eyes twinkled. "Son of Poseidon."

My eyes widened. "Son of Poseidon? You mean, I have a brother?"

"Apparently so," he replied.

I frowned. "Why didn't you ever tell me?"

Nico chuckled. "I was waiting for the right moment to tell you. I wanted you to see a picture, or see him first. It was kind of a surprise I had for you."

I sat down on the couch and beckoned Nico to sit next to me. Leo and Calypso said they were going to bed. I nodded and waited until Nico got comfortable.

"Nico," I whispered.

"Yeah?"

"Why were you crying at the coffee shop?"

I could see his lean muscles tense up underneath his black hoodie. "Um, well…"

I put my hands up in defense. "It's okay if you don't want to tell me, you don't have to." I felt bad for butting into his personal life. I just felt curious, but crappy at the same time.

Nico shook his head. "It's fine. I think it's around time for me to tell you anyway."

I nodded my head. "Alright."

He took a deep breath and looked me right in the eye. "Well, you know about my sister Bianca, right?"

"Yeah. You told me about her in the coffee shop. Where is she?"

Nico looked down at his hands, which were resting in his lap.

"She — she's dead. She died on a quest with your half-brother, Percy."

I moved closer to him on the couch and wrapped my arms around him. I wanted to protect him from anything else that ever hurt him.

"Gods, I'm sorry, Nico. I shouldn't have asked. You know what; we'll just drop the subject."

"Cheyenne," Nico said. "It's okay. I think that if you wanted to know I'd tell you."

"Seriously Nico," I murmured. "I don't want to make you relive bad memories. Maybe you can tell me some other time, when we're not so tired and everything."

Nico sighed. "Alright. I'll tell you when we get to camp."

I nodded. That was a close one. I didn't want to make Nico sad again. Anything but that. He was already going through enough shit in his life. We fell asleep on the couch together, holding hands. His warm body snuggled up against mine. My head on his shoulder. _This is what life should be like_, I think to myself.

**What did you think? :D For those of you who review and favorite, cookie for you! *hands out cookies* I'll try to post more consistently, but school hates me. Arigato!**

**~ PJOHOOForever123! ;)**


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